A must-have during the holiday season and colder weather months, add a drop or two of this refreshing pure peppermint extract to hot chocolate, cappuccino, cookies, candies, icings, and sweetened whipped cream. It’s also great massaged onto your temples to relieve a headache!

This sweet wine jelly is infused with ripe, sweet figs and dry, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, a red wine with rich black currant and dark cherry notes. It’s the perfect pairing this holiday season, whether it’s a part of an appetizer cheese tray or brushed onto a plum or pear tart for dessert.

Known for its superior quality, the Madagascar-Bourbon vanilla bean is the most popular of all the vanilla varieties. It is highly fragrant, with desirable thin, oil-rich skin, and has sweet, smooth flavours and aromas.

I have had a chance to try these products in various recipes and I must say that my favourite item this month has been the PC Black Label Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean. As a Pastry Chef, this is a highly coveted item that I love to work with and always reach for before using any extracts. The flavour is rich and shines in any sweet or savory dish that it is used in. For this month, I decided to showcase my love for cranberries and vanilla bean in the form of scones. I love this time of year with the fresh cranberries and the holiday season fast approaching, these are perfect to make for a weekend brunch. They are sure to please everyone. If you’re not a fan of cranberries, you can swap them out for blueberries or raspberries. I’m excited to be hosting a giveaway for next month’s PC Black Label Collection Black Box on my Instagram feed. Read on for more information and how to enter below. Good Luck! I hope you’ll enjoy the recipe and it becomes your favourite go-to breakfast dessert. I would love to see your recreations using the hashtag, #hautesucre on your social media channels. Whether you’re a home chef or an aspiring foodie, the PC Black Label Collectionmakes it easy to unleash your culinary curiosity and get creative. Discover the entire collection and be inspired to #PlayWithYourFood at pc.ca/blacklabel.

*PC Black Label Collection December Black Box Instagram Giveaway*

Giveaway details will be posted on my Instagram account @hautesucre. Head on over to find the post of this Cranberry Vanilla Bean Scones Recipe to enter via the Instagram comments. Giveaway Rules:

The giveaway will be open for entries on Instagram from Monday November 26th, 2018 to Wednesday November 28, 2018 9:00PM EST. Please follow the instructions in the Instagram post to enter.

The winner will be chosen randomly on the morning of Thursday November 29, 2018 and contacted via Instagram direct message.

Topping:

2 tsp cream

2 tsp raw sugar

Finishing:

½ cup white chocolate, melted

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

For the Scones:

Using a sharp paring knife, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise from tip to end. Use the back of the knife to scrape out the vanilla beans. *The vanilla bean pod can be reused and added to your sugar container to make vanilla scented sugar.

Pour in the buttermilk and cranberries and stir with a fork until a soft, sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and, with floured hands, gently knead and shape the dough, adding more flour to prevent sticking as necessary until dough comes together.

Pat out to a 9-inch (23 cm) circle or square as shown and cut into 12 wedges. Place on prepared baking sheet, at least 1-inch (2.5 cm) apart.

Topping:

Brush tops of scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 15 to 20 min, until puffed and golden.

Let cool for at least 20 min on a wire rack.

Melt the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl for 45-60 seconds on high in the microwave.

Using the tines of a fork or the back of a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate over top of the scones. Let it set for a few minutes until the chocolate sets and is no longer runny. Enjoy!

Kulfi is a popular frozen dairy dessert from the Indian Subcontinent, often described as traditional Indian ice cream. It is one of my favourites and evokes delicious memories of hot summers with my siblings and cousins, playing outside in the hot sun and eating cold kulfis, dribbling down our chins with happy grins.

These coveted treats were also the dessert highlight to many family dinners we attended, hoping there would be kulfi with falooda to finish off the meal. It was the perfect sweet combination of sickly sweet with the cool of the pistachio and almond cream, the essence of rose and beautiful saffron threads.

Perhaps this is where my love of desserts first started as a young child and fast forward to today, mixing cultures and recreating desserts with a French twist. Who can resist playing with their food, especially when it comes to ice cream!

I’ve always loved rhubarb and worked with it quite a bit in Paris and it just felt like a natural fit to pair it with this decadent PC Black Label Pistachio Ice Cream. It also ties in perfectly with Spring right now as I love to make desserts with available, in-season produce. It’s the perfect time to make this dessert, especially if you can get your hands on fresh rhubarb stalks this time of year. So come on, let’s play…

When I opened up this month’s PC Black Label Box I was delighted to see a selection of wonderful products.

PC Black Label Pistachio Ice Cream

PC Black Label Rooibos Tea

PC Gorgonzola Dolce

PC Black Label Pistachio Ice Creamis an artisanal-style ice cream made with whole cream, sugar, egg yolks and pistachio paste that leaves a rich, velvety and luxurious melt-in-your-mouth experience. I was immediately drawn to this and all I could think of was kulfi and what to pair this with to make an outstanding dessert.

PC Gorgonzola Dolce is a sweet and creamy cheese that is a milder blue cheese that makes a great addition to any cheese board for the blue cheese lovers or melted over a hot, sizzling steak this summer!

Whether you’re a home chef or an aspiring foodie, the PC Black Label Collectionmakes it easy to unleash your culinary curiosity and get creative. Discover the entire collection and be inspired to #PlayWithYourFood at pc.ca/blacklabel.

I hope you’ll enjoy the recipe and it becomes your favourite go-to dessert. I would love to see your recreations using the hashtag, #hautesucre on your social media channels.

I’m excited to be hosting a giveaway for next month’s PC Black Label Collection Black Box on my Instagram feed. Read on for more information and how to enter below. Good Luck!

*PC Black Label Collection June Black Box Instagram Giveaway*

Giveaway details will be posted on my Instagram account @hautesucre. Head on over to find the post of this Pistachio & Rhubarb Kulfi to enter via the Instagram comments.

Giveaway Rules:

The giveaway will be open for entries on Instagram from Monday May 21, 2018 to Thursday May 24, 2018 11:59PM EST. Please follow the instructions in the Instagram post to enter.

The winner will be chosen randomly on the morning of Friday May 25, 2018 and contacted via Instagram direct message.